Do I have to recheck luggage in Heathrow Airport transferring from a flight on Delta to British Airways?
My wife and I fly from Atlanta, Ga to London on 08/02/14, arriving at 12:15 on 08/03/14 on Delta Airlines. We will then fly directly to Dublin, Ireland on either the 14:05 or 17:25 flights on British Airways. Do we have to get our luggage in Heathrow and go through customs, then go to the British Airways ticket counter to check the luggage with them and then go back through security? I doubt Delta will check the bags through to a British Airways flight. We are currently booked on the 17:25 flight but would love to make the 14:05 flight but I have no idea how much time it would take to go through customs and then through the ticket line and then back through security. Can you help?
Best Answer
Yes, unfortunately you will need to retrieve your bags and re-check them. I haven't had this exact scenario, but I have flown on a mixed Delta/British Airways flight before, where customs didn't even play into it (Cape Town to Johannesburg on British, Johannesburg to Atlanta on Delta), and was forced to re-check my bags.
I don't know if any airlines have arrangements to transfer checked luggage like that, but British Airways and Delta (as of January 2014) certainly do not.
Pictures about "Do I have to recheck luggage in Heathrow Airport transferring from a flight on Delta to British Airways?"
Do I have to pick up my bags on a connecting flight international Delta?
You have to collect your luggage but you don't need to check in again. The bags will be tagged through and you just dropped them on a special belt just outside customs.Do I have to go through security again for connecting flight at Heathrow?
Everyone who boards an aircraft at Heathrow has to be security screened to UK government standards. Even if you've already been through security checks at another airport, we're obliged to screen you again before you fly from Heathrow.Do I have to go through customs for a connecting flight in UK?
Generally speaking, you only clear customs if you're leaving the airport and entering into the country, not heading on to connecting flights. One example of where this becomes a gray area is long layovers. When I was flying back from India two summers ago, I had a ~15-hour overnight layover at London Heathrow (LHR).Do I have to go through security again for connecting flight?
For connecting domestic flights, you almost never have to exit and reenter security, though there are some exceptions at airports where the terminals aren't all connected. For domestic-to-international connection, it's still pretty rare that you have to exit and reenter security, even if you're changing terminals.Connection in London Heathrow
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Kelly, Gustavo Fring, Kelly, Gustavo Fring